VoIP needs serious security review

Internet Protocol-based voice networks may be the wave of the future, but they will require a whole new approach to security, warned telecoms experts at the VON Europe voice-over IP (VoIP) conference in London on Tuesday. A wide-ranging programme ranged from the nuts and bolts of connecting 3G and IP networks to a look at "disruptive" VoIP systems that could permanently change the way people use telephony. The most controversial presentation was from Niklas Zennstrom, chief executive of peer-to-peer VoIP service Skype Technologies, who argued traditional telcos were heading for oblivion.

And as if in response, BT announced just hours later its plans to turn its entire PSTN phone network into an IP work by 2009.

VoIP has many advantages over traditional telephone networks, both in cost advantages and value-added services such as integrated multimedia and file transfer, experts say. But there's a catch: enterprise users will suddenly have to think about threats such as denial-of-service attacks, worms and even VoIP spam, said executives from networking giants such as Nortel, Cisco and Alcatel.

Read Full Story